One More Cup of Coffee

affiliate program research

The great thing about affiliate marketing is that there are a seemingly infinite amount of ways you can earn money. I like to liken affiliate websites coffee shops. There are a couple of similarities that make the analogy easy to understand.

First off, you haven't missed the boat. Affiliate marketing has been around for a while, and it's going to continue to be around. I get a lot of emails asking if the industry is too crowded, and if they stand a chance being a newbie in the cutthroat world of online business.

My answer is basically that coffee shops have been around forever, and they'll continue to be around. You could have a small coffee shop on every corner of a city street and it could make enough money to survive. Sure, not every shop is going to be wildly successful like Starbucks, but you don't have to be a billionaire to be rich. Is Starbucks your only coffee house in your entire city? Probably not. There are going to be some big corporate shops and some small mom-and-pop shops.

The same goes for affiliate websites. There are hundreds of thousands of websites about video game reviews, yoga, and how to be a mom. It doesn't mean that everything has been “taken” already. In fact, there's a good argument to say that we're just getting started. Only 50% of the world has internet access right now, and an even smaller percentage shop online. Online business is a growth industry. You have to figure out where you fit into it, but there's room for you, and everyone else.

Furthermore, every coffee shop has its own style, and its own audience. Although coffee shops sell the same thing (coffee), they all do it in a different way. Some folks will want to go to big, corporate Starbucks and Peets because they have gourmet coffee, and it's cheap and fast. Other people will want a more “local” feel to their shop, and can pay $1 extra for hand crafted, barista-approved, hipster coffee. Then of course, some people don't care and just want McDonald's garbage for 99 cents.

It's the same with websites. Big, corporate websites suck. I hate when Forbes reviews video games. Reading Business Insider's views on craft beer gives me a headache. There are plenty of hobby websites I can't stand to read because the owner writes in an annoying way.

Your brand and your voice will appeal to a specific audience. Even if your idea was already taken, you can still offer unique perspectives.

OK, saying all that was simply to introduce this index page with all of my affiliate research links.

Featured: 10 EXCITING Affiliate Marketing Niches for 2020

Affiliate Program Research Resources

Types Of Affiliate Programs

These are lists of my favorite types of affiliate programs. I'm very partial to recurring affiliate programs because they saved my ass back in the day. After I screwed around with PBNs in 2012 and got hit with a Google update, recurring affiliate commissions kept me afloat for years while I started new websites.

Of course, high ticket affiliate programs are also super popular. The logic is true. Just one sale a month with a grand in commissions can really pay the rent. One freakin' sale. That being said, a lot of high ticket affiliate programs are garbage “make money” coaching things. Watch out for those.

High paying affiliate programs is kind of my own invention. It's not something people seek out, but it's worth looking into. These would be affiliate programs that pay you a high percentage of the sale. Some places like Walmart only pay 4%, while Clickbank pays $75% and some VPN affiliate programs pay 100%!

Most Popular Affiliate Categories

Affiliate Program Lists

The types of products you can promote are vast. The number of companies in each niche topic that would love to pay you to promote their products is astronomical. There are a lot of possible topics to write about, and a lot of companies worth promoting.

Over the years I've collected plenty of research on which affiliate programs you can promote for which niche topic. Plus, I did a bunch of research on individual topics, including information like trends, keyword research, website ideas, and top affiliate picks.

There are also individual affiliate program reviews I've done. See how to sign up, where to find your links, what products/services they offer, and what are some ways you could promote their links. The links below are to tags and categories, so you'll need to scroll through the indexes to find what you want.

Affiliate Network Reviews & Tutorials

Affiliate networks house thousands of affiliate programs. When I first started out as a newbie, I hated affiliate networks. They were confusing, and I could never figure out how to find my affiliate link.

I've grown to really like them. It means I don't have to learn a new affiliate panel for every product I decide to promote. I can gain “clout” in the network and get access to special offers. Plus, it consolidates my affiliate payments and to be honest that makes my bookkeeping easier. 

I've found that since affiliate networks actually have income coming in through their affiliate efforts, they can hire enthusiastic, knowledgable managers too. Some networks like CrakRevenue (adult), RevOffers (cannabis), or PeerFly (CPA) have a lot of resources to help you develop your affiliate campaigns.

Here are my reviews of my favorite affiliate networks.

Affiliate Website Game Plans

Thinking of website ideas as a newbie is pretty tough. I get it. My first websites were about Asian flush and the mobile game Plants VS Zombies. Yawn.

So I picked a couple of popular topics and really dug in to break down how I would build a website for these topics. Each post contains multiple niche focus ideas, keyword research, ideas for branching out beyond just a website. These were originally written as a kind of sales page, so there is a a bit of a sales pitch at the end. I'll update them at some point to be more “holistic” and just informational. 

Final Thoughts

This page is kind of like an index page for all my affiliate research. I'll continually add and update to it.